


Temptation Is Not An Island (But Alfred Wouldn’t Be Tempted Anyway)

by Thats_Amore



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Demiromantic America (Hetalia), Demisexual America (Hetalia), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship/Love, Infidelity Outside Of America/Romano, M/M, Mentions of Unhealthy Alcohol Use, Minor Canada/Ukraine (Hetalia), One-Sided Relationship, POV America (Hetalia), Past Relationship(s), Past South Italy/Original Male Character (Hetalia), Pining, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29414532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thats_Amore/pseuds/Thats_Amore
Summary: The day before Valentine’s Day, Alfred is hanging out with his brother and watching reality TV to distract himself the fact that Savino is probably doing something romantic with his boyfriend. But when his best friend suddenly shows up at his apartment out of the blue, Alfred’s February 13th plans change.
Relationships: America & Canada (Hetalia), America/South Italy (Hetalia)
Kudos: 10





	Temptation Is Not An Island (But Alfred Wouldn’t Be Tempted Anyway)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for hetaliancupid-hetaliaevent on tumblr's Day 6 prompt, hug.

Alfred was not looking forward to Valentine’s Day this year. Part of it was that he was single as hell. He’d accepted that he was on the aromantic and asexual spectrums a while ago, but Valentine’s Day always made him feel weird, like he was supposed to have a romantic partner because that’s what society expected of him. This year he was particularly lonely because his best friend Savino, the only person he'd ever had romantic feelings for, would be spending the day with his stupid boyfriend Nathaniel. Nathaniel had always rubbed Alfred the wrong way, and not just because he was jealous of his relationship with Vinny (though that was admittedly part of the problem). Alfred had tried to be friendly to the guy, but he could tell Nathaniel was only bothering to acknowledge Alfred’s existence because Vinny was around. He wouldn’t even let Alfred give him a nickname and insisted on being called _Nathaniel_ in full. Alfred thought Savino could do loads better. If he didn’t want to be with Alfred, he could at least be with someone who wasn’t such a complete tool.

Matthew knew that Alfred would be having a hard time this year, so he came over on February 13th to spend some quality time with his brother. He would obviously be spending the next day with his girlfriend Kateryna, and Alfred didn’t begrudge him that. It was really nice of Mattie to come over so close to Valentine’s Day and try to cheer him up. Watching reruns of _Temptation Island_ wasn’t normally Matthew’s idea of a good time, but he put up with it because Alfred wanted to watch a silly reality show instead of thinking about whatever Savino was doing with his boyfriend.

They were in the middle of an episode when, out of nowhere, they suddenly heard a strange noise at the front door of the apartment. It sounded like someone was trying to get in, but that didn’t make sense. Alfred had never bothered to change the locks after Vinny moved out to live with his boyfriend, but there was no way he should be here right now.

Vinny shoved open the door, dropped a duffle bag by the entrance, and then slammed the door shut behind him. “You know I kept reminding you to change the fucking locks, but I guess it’s a good thing you were too lazy to do that. Where the hell do you keep your wine?”

Alfred was baffled, to say the least. “I, uhh… don’t think I even have wine anymore? I’m pretty sure you took it all when you moved out, and I’m not much of a drinker. But there’s some beer in the fridge. Gil left it when he came over a few days ago.”

“Fine. I’ll have the albino bastard’s beer.” He stomped over to the kitchen, obviously in a foul mood, and Matthew put the TV on mute and leaned over to whisper to his brother.

“Didn’t you say he’d be with his boyfriend right now?”

Alfred nodded. “I thought he would be.”

Matthew frowned thoughtfully. “I think something bad must’ve happened with him and Nathaniel. Savino is acting a lot more pissed off than normal.”

Alfred sighed. “I think you’re right, Mattie. I’ll go talk to him and see what it is.”

When he got to the kitchen, Savino was slugging down a bottle of Gilbert’s expensive, imported German beer like it was water and he’d just gone on a five-mile run in the August heat.

Alfred cautiously approached him. “Wow, I… uh, didn’t know you liked beer so much, dude.”

“I don’t,” Savino snapped. “I just needed something to wash out the taste of my boyfriend fucking _cheating_ on me like the lowlife sack of shit he is.”

Alfred’s face fell. “Vinny—”

Savino set the beer down on the counter so he could use both hands to gesture as he ranted. “You saw us together, Alfredo. Tell me, did I strike you as a bad boyfriend? Did I mistreat or neglect Nathaniel in any way?”

“No, no you didn’t.” Savino had been affectionate and loving towards Nathaniel, so much so that it could turn Alfred’s stomach at times. The envy he’d felt, and that hopeless wish to be in Nathaniel’s place, was what had clued Alfred in to the fact he didn’t just see Vinny as a friend. But by the time he had figured that out, Alfred couldn’t say anything because Savino was _happy_ and he and Nathaniel were in a serious, committed relationship. He couldn’t say anything then, and he definitely couldn’t say anything now after Savino had just had his heart broken.

Mostly, he felt immense sympathy towards Savino, which is the emotion one should feel when a friend’s boyfriend turns out to be a disloyal asshole. But there was a tiny piece of Alfred’s heart that found Savino’s complicated hand gesturing cute, even though that was a completely inappropriate thing to notice in this situation.

“Then tell me why the fuck that testa di minchia decided to start sexting another guy!” Savino shouted. “And then he had the nerve to get angry at me for ‘snooping’ through his phone! I only checked because I happened to see a suspicious message pop up on the screen while he was out of the room! Can you believe that bullshit?!”

“It was totally normal for you to check his phone if you saw something weird,” Alfred said. “He shouldn’t have been sexting with someone else anyway.” Seriously, what the hell was wrong with Nathaniel? Couldn’t he keep it in his pants for five goddamn minutes, especially when he had someone like Savino to come home to? Alfred would give anything to have the relationship with Savino that Nathaniel had so carelessly disregarded, and he would never even think of cheating. He had never really understood why people would feel tempted to cheat, because Vinny was the only person he’d ever been attracted to that way. That’s why he had decided to watch _Temptation Island_ , because a bunch of horny, straight allosexuals who couldn’t keep it in their pants was weirdly amusing to him.

But he was far from amused when someone he cared about got cheated on. He could tell that Savino was deeply hurt by his boyfriend’s betrayal, even if he was trying to conceal it by pretending he only felt outrage.

“I just… I can’t figure out why he’d do that to me. If he was unhappy, he should’ve said something or just dumped me! That would have been so much better than this.” Savino looked away, but not before Alfred noticed tears forming in his beautiful hazel eyes. “I hate him. I hate him so goddamn much.”

Alfred stepped in closer and opened up his arms in invitation. “C’mere, Savi.”

Savino hugged him, burying his head in Alfred’s shoulder and squeezing his arms around him tightly. Alfred returned the embrace and started to rub gentle circles over Savino’s trembling shoulder blades, and that made him break down into heartbroken sobs.

“That fucker knew! He knew the issues I have with my self-esteem, and then he went and fucked somebody else! I loved him, and he made me feel like a pile of stinking garbage!”

Alfred glared past Savino at the kitchen cabinets, but in his mind, he was glaring at the shithead who dared to make his best friend cry. “Want me to kill him for you?”

Savino laughed, even though Alfred hadn’t been entirely joking. (Murder was pretty extreme, but he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of Nathaniel to teach him a lesson.) “That’s okay. I broke his phone while I was screaming at him. Not on purpose, but when he tried to defend himself, I was so goddamn furious I threw it to the ground and stomped on it. He seemed pretty scared of me after that. I don’t think he’ll be bothering me again.”

Alfred smirked a little at how badass Savi had been. Woe to anyone who betrayed his trust the way Nathaniel had.

“In that case, I’m just gonna keep holding you until you’re ready for me to let go.” Honestly, if the circumstances were better, Alfred wouldn’t mind holding Savino like this for the rest of his life. His body ran a little warmer than average, he smelled like an Italian herb garden mixed with expensive cologne, and the size difference made him fit perfectly into Alfred’s arms. Alfred liked hugging anyone he was reasonably close to, but he’d never enjoyed hugging anyone else as much as he did Savino.

“I’m not done yet. I’m feeling pretty worthless, and I’m not ready to face the world yet.” But his heavy sobs had already softened into gentle weeping, so he would probably let go soon. “I think I got snot on your shirt. Sorry about that.”

“Eh, that’s okay. I got it from Walmart, so it’s not like you have to worry about ruining something that cost a lot of money.”

Savino chuckled, and then he lifted his head away from Alfred’s shoulder with a hint of a smile. “Good thing you’re such a cheapskate then.”

“Guess so.” Alfred just didn’t care much about clothing. He had a few more expensive things in his closet that he wore if he had to be somewhere fancy, but when he was at home, he preferred t-shirts and jeans. He prioritized comfort over fashion.

Savino started to pull away, and Alfred dropped his arms, ignoring the pang of regret that accompanied his absence. “Is it okay if I spend the night here? I don’t exactly have a place to stay right now since I obviously won’t be living with my ex anymore.”

“You can move back in,” Alfred told him. “I didn’t get another roommate, so your room’s still available. And to be honest, I kind of missed having you around.” More like pined pathetically for the days they used to live together, but Savino didn’t need to know that right now.

“I kind of missed living with you too, idiota.” He sighed and glanced in the direction of the living room. “We probably need to go out there and let Matthew know what’s going on, huh?”

“I think he might have overheard everything. You were yelling pretty loud.”

“I did,” Matthew confirmed from the other room. “I’m sorry your boyfriend cheated on you, Savino. It wasn’t right.”

“Thanks,” Savino replied. He picked up his beer and started to walk out to the living room, and Alfred followed him.

Matthew had gotten off the couch, which would be too small to fit three people, and sat down in a nearby armchair. He shot Savino a sympathetic look as they entered the room, and Savino sat down on the couch. Alfred took a seat right next to him, and Savino sipped at his beer, but a more normal, less concerning rate.

“Do you want to watch something on TV? It might help you get your mind off things.”

Savino shrugged. “I don’t have enough energy to focus on a complex plotline. You can watch whatever the fuck you want.”

Alfred picked up the remote, turned the sound back on, and quickly switched to a news channel. Savi had said he could watch whatever he wanted, but a reality show about people “testing” their relationships and frequently hooking up with attractive strangers would be incredibly insensitive after what Savi had just gone through.

After a bit of browsing, he settled on one of those cooking competition shows he knew Savino enjoyed. Thirty minutes into the program, Savino had gotten invested enough to start pointing out the mistakes the contestants were making and talking to the television as if it could respond to his commands. Alfred exchanged an amused, fond glance with Mattie, who grinned at him. He knew Savino wasn’t all better and that he would need time to get over Nathaniel, but Alfred was glad to see Savino acting a little more like his normal self.

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted on my tumblr here: https://thatsamericano.tumblr.com/post/643055168955482112/temptation-is-not-an-island-but-alfred-wouldnt


End file.
